By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Dr. Sania Nishtar, a senator and former special assistant to the prime minister of Pakistan, has been appointed as the chief executive officer of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the organization announced Thursday.
Nishtar, a trained medical doctor and a global public health leader, will take over from interim-CEO David Marlow on March 18.
Gavi is a public-private partnership that aims to improve access to immunization for children in lower-income countries. It has played a key role in the Covid-19 pandemic, co-leading the COVAX facility that distributes vaccines to more than 190 countries.
Nishtar’s appointment comes at a critical time for Gavi, as it prepares to launch its 2026–2030 strategy and seeks to raise funds for its next five-year period. The organization plans to host a high-level event in June, co-hosted by France and Africa CDC, to present its investment opportunity.
“Dr. Nishtar has built a reputation as a tireless advocate for health equity, an innovative thinker and a proven doer when it comes to solving complex challenges,” said Professor José Manuel Barroso, chair of the Gavi board, in the press release. “I am impressed by her accomplishments and excited by the possibilities her appointment brings for our alliance and our ambitions to protect future generations.”
Nishtar said she was honored by the trust the Gavi board had placed in her and stressed that health began with life-saving vaccines.
“Over the past 23 years, Gavi has been one of the most impactful organizations in global health,” she said in the press release. “The task ahead is enormous — from health impacts of climate change, to the need to tackle vaccine inequity, prepare for future outbreaks and boost routine immunization, which I believe is the gateway to achieving universal health coverage.”
Nishtar has extensive experience in national and global health governance. She served as special assistant to the prime minister on social protection and poverty alleviation from 2018 to 2022, overseeing Pakistan’s largest social welfare program, Ehsaas.
She also served as a federal minister in 2013, during a caretaker government, with responsibility for re-establishing the country’s ministry of health.
She has also held several leadership positions in international organizations, such as co-chair of the World Health Organization’s High-Level Commission on Non-communicable Diseases, chair of the United Nations Secretary General’s Independent Accountability Panel for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, and member of the Lancet Commission on the Future of Health in Africa.
Nishtar’s appointment was welcomed by various stakeholders, including the World Health Organization and the Foreign Office of Pakistan.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus congratulated Nishtar on Twitter, saying he and his team looked forward to working with her to “reach every last child with lifesaving vaccines.”
The Foreign Office of Pakistan felicitated Nishtar on her appointment and hailed her as a “distinguished global public health leader” who demonstrated “exceptional contributions to Pakistan throughout her illustrious career.”
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